Stuck
by Ottsel Cath
Summary: All Lyla wanted was to help Zac find more about his transformation. She never expected to get stuck in the cave with him. Sometimes, being afraid reveals your true feelings and makes you feel like you should say what you were holding in for so long. This one-shot takes place during the episode Zac returns to Mako.


**Stuck**

* * *

Going through his first full moon was not the easiest thing for Zac; it was frightening. He was so scared of how the moon tried to control him and he was afraid he would do something he would regret. The worst part was that he did not remember anything that happened the night of his first full moon. It was like he completely blacked out.

That is why he found himself on Mako Island with Lyla. He wanted to learn more about his transformation by investigating the cave he entered on that fateful night where his life changed forever.

The beautiful blond mermaid was standing right behind Zac and she was staring at the blue gem that was on her finger. She did feel a little bit bad about stealing Rita's moon ring, but she needed it to help Zac since Sirena refused to lend her her moon ring.

"Well, we're not getting through that in a hurry." Zac sighed.

"Why don't you try your powers on it?" Lyla suggested to the merman. It was actually just a subterfuge so she could use the moon ring on the rock wall without him noticing; without revealing her true identity.

Zac shrugged his shoulders and raised his right hand in front of him. Zac concentrated in using his powers on the said rock wall while Lyla raised her moon ring towards the wall and concentrated on its powers.

"Nothing's happening." Zac said desperately.

"Keep trying." Lyla ordered him. She had to make him wait, so the moon ring could release its power.

Zac let his hand fall at his side in desperation, but Lyla ordered him again to continue. This time though, the ring glowed and magic was released.

They both heard a sound and a part of the rock wall disappeared, just like it did on the night of the full moon.

"Did I do that?" Zac asked rhetorically.

"How else could it have had happened?" Lyla asked with a smirk.

"What are we doing now?" Zac asked the blond teenager while he walked towards her with a huge smile on his face.

"We enter." Lyla responded confidently.

Lyla walked in front of Zac and walked in the cave before he could even blink. She looked back at him and he immediately got the message that he had to follow her.

When they both entered the cave they looked around for a couple of seconds to examine their environment, but the wall closed immediately behind them. They were trapped in the cave.

Lyla turned around and noticed immediately.

"No!" She exclaimed as she walked towards the place they walked in. She gripped the wall in desperation, but nothing happened. Zac copied her movements.

"This isn't good." Zac stated and then sighed.

"Wh-What if I use my powers again?" Zac suggested nervously.

Lyla stood behind Zac and held Rita's moon ring up copying Zac's hand movement.

"It's not working." Zac said to Lyla while she shook the moon ring trying to make it work.

"We're trapped." Zac said to Lyla looking at the ground.

Zac tried and tried to make the wall disappear using his powers, but nothing happened. He tried to simply push the wall, but that did not work either. Meanwhile, Lyla tried and tried to make the moon ring work, but, somehow, it was like it was out of energy- or moonlight.

"No, that's not going to budge." Zac stated, again.

The merman sighed as he faced the mermaid- who he did not know about.

"Sorry." He apologized sheepishly. "I guess I got us into a pretty tight spot."

"No, it's my fault." Lyla said with guilt all over her face.

"How do you figure that?" Zac asked. Lyla had to think fast otherwise Zac would suspect that something is going on with her and that she is hiding something pretty big from him.

"I encouraged you and I chose to come." She said to the merman.

"Why did you?" Zac asked the blond.

"You couldn't come by yourself. What if something happened to you?" Lyla responded immediately regretting her words.

"You worry about me that much?" Zac asked the girl. Lyla looked like a deer caught in headlights and she was speechless.

She had grown pretty close to Zac in the last couple of weeks and she loved to spend time with him. They had a sort of connection and that made her feel special- a way she never felt before. Being with Zac made her feel alive and made her feel like she was right where she was supposed to be. She was not able to decipher that feeling, but somehow, she knew they were wrong and that they would put everyone -the merworld- in trouble.

"There's got to be another way out of here." Lyla said completely dodging Zac's question. She turned away and walked further into the cave Zac following at her heels.

They both arrived in the biggest part of the cave and it looked like it was all hand-carved. There was a huge round shape on the wall with a distinctive symbol in the middle. When Zac saw it, he froze and stared at it.

"What is that?" Lyla asked as she stared at it too.

"I've seen it before." Zac admitted. "It was glowing like this bright light was behind it. When I touched it, the floor must've opened up and I fell."

"This vanished?" Lyla asked as she stared at the ground.

Zac then pulled Lyla into him and held her tight around the waist. She was shocked by his actions, but also shocked by what it made her feel. Zac also had this weird feeling when their bodies collided.

Zac knew he and Lyla had gotten dangerously close. He knew Evie and Cam would ask questions; Evie did not know about Zac's new life and Cam did not know Lyla, Nixie and Sirena knew about his new identity. She was helping him through the recent developments and she always supported him. It made him feel special and it should not be happening since he was in a relationship with Evie. Even if everything pointed towards the fact that he should not be spending more time with Lyla, he could not keep away. She was intoxicating him in a way and he was intoxicating her.

"What are you doing?" Lyla asked the merman a bit disturbed.

"Don't worry, I've got you in case it happens again." Zac comforted her even though that's not what she was worried about at all.

"Here goes nothing." Zac said as he raised his arm towards the symbol on the round door thing.

Lyla tried to use her moon ring at the same time, but nothing happened.

Zac walked towards the symbol to get a closer look. He tried to touch it, but nothing happened.

"What?" Zac asked insulted. "When I touched it the first time, the floor vanished. Why is it not happening?"

"I guess the full moon was involved in all of this." Lyla suggested.

"Maybe." Zac answered. "We're still stuck here."

Lyla walked towards the rock wall that was forming the room and she sat down with her back against it. Zac copied her and sat right beside her. Their arms were brushing against each other.

Zac rested his head on the wall and sighed in desperation.

"I'm so sorry I got you into this mess, Lyla." Zac apologized for the second time. "I was too focused on finding out about what happened to me that I focused how dangerous this actually was."

Lyla looked away from Zac's beautiful brown eyes. She knew it was her fault; she should not have used Rita's moon ring in the first place. If she let him use his powers, they would never have been able to open the tunnel and therefore they would not be stick there like barnacle on a rock.

"Why aren't you looking at me?" Zac asked the blond as he noticed she would not look at him, like she was hiding something.

"Wasn't I?" Lyla asked.

"You're avoiding my eyes." Zac stated and Lyla still looked away.

She was uncomfortable for two reasons: one, Zac was really close to her and it made her heart beat faster and two, she was responsible for this mess and she felt awful about it.

Lyla finally decided to turn around and look at him to shut him up, but it was big mistake. Their faces were only a couple of inches apart and she could not keep her eyes off his handsome features.

Zac stared into Lyla's eyes and Lyla stared into Zac's eyes.

Then, out of hormones and his subconscious, Zac leaned in.

Lyla, on the other hand, panicked.

She backed up and stood as her heart beat raised.

When he realized what he had done, Zac's eyes widened.

"Lyla, I am so sorry." Zac apologized to the mermaid. She was looking at everything beside him. "I guess I was just caught up in the moment and we were so close and you looked beautiful and-"

"You think I'm beautiful?" She asked using his own words. Zac's cheeks reddened.

"Yeah." He said sheepishly avoiding her gaze.

Zac sat down where he first was and patted the floor to tell her to sit down beside him and she did.

"I need to know something." Zac said to the blond.

"What?" Lyla asked him nervously.

"You never answered my question earlier." Zac said and Lyla knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Ugh, I-" Lyla stuttered. "I do worry about you that much. I mean, what happened to you is incredible and I want you to figure it all out without getting hurt or exposed."

Zac was not too please with her answer, because he knew she was lying.

"Can I make a confession?" Zac asked the girl sitting right beside him. She simply nodded as a response. "Ever since you found out about me, you've been helping me non-stop and I could never be more grateful for that, but I can't help feeling that it's something more than that."

Lyla looked at him and did exactly know what to say, so he continued to speak.

"I feel like we have this special connection. You understand me more than no one else does and you are always willing to help me through crazy things like the situation we are in right now even if it can put you in trouble. I can't help, but think you feel it too." Zac explained and Lyla just blushed. He had the same feelings towards her that she had towards him.

"I do feel it too." Lyla murmured, but he still heard it.

He took her left hand in his right hand and intertwined their fingers. She looked up into his eyes and saw how happy he looked. She, on the other hand, frowned.

She was blinded for a couple of seconds by his confession. If he ever found out about who she really was, he would hate her. She would rather keep him as a friend than betray him even if she already is. She never let go of his hands though.

"Are you okay?" He asked realizing she was frowning.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She answered a bit dryly. It was his turn to frown.

"If this is about Evie, I was planning on breaking up with her." Zac admitted.

"Why? You love her." Lyla stated even if the words she spoke hurt her.

"I loved her. I really did, but not anymore." Zac admitted.

"Why not?" Lyla asked.

"When I first found out I had a tail, I was scared to tell her, because I was scared of myself. Now, I'm scared to tell her because I feel like she would not understand." Zac explained.

"That's not the real reason, is it?" Lyla asked seeing right through him.

"No." He laughed. "I think I might have fallen for somebody else." He admitted and she knew he was talking about her.

"You're just saying this because we are stuck here." Lyla responded.

"I'm not. I've been feeling like this for a while now." He admitted to the mermaid.

"We cannot happen, Zac." Lyla said to the boy.

"Why not?" He asked her.

"Because…" She stared as she searched for the right words. "Because we're too different."

"Just because I'm a mermaid and you're a human, it doesn't mean we cannot join two worlds." He said.

"We can't. It's not right for us to be together." Lyla answered.

"Why? I like you and I'm pretty sure you like me too." Zac stated. As he squeezed her hand.

Lyla took a deep breath.

"I've been keeping something big from you and you'd hate me for it. That's why we can't be together." Lyla said and she knew she already gave too much away.

"It can't be that bad." Zac said to reassure her, but he was surprised by her comments.

"It is." Lyla responded.

"Can't you just tell me?" He asked curiously.

"They would not let me." Lyla said referring to Nixie, Sirena, Rita and the rest of the pod.

"But I know you're hiding something important now." Zac said to try and convince Lyla. He really did not have any idea of what she might have been hiding. Had she exposed him? Is she from another planet? Or is it that she's in love with him?

"Please, Lyla. I trust you with the biggest secret of my life, can't you trust me?" He asked and he hit a sensible cord, because he saw her expression change from scared to guilty.

"Of course I trust you." Lyla responded immediately. She knew she said too much and that she could have to tell him eventually. They want to get rid of his powers, so maybe telling him the truth will help with their goal. She was lying to herself though; her goal was not to get rid of his powers anymore. She just wanted to help him get through all of this and be by his side.

"Then why don't you tell me?" He asked.

"It's complicated." She responded.

"I don't care about what you're hiding. I still like you." He told the mermaid.

The boy pulled Lyla in and hoped she would not reject him this time. He leaned in and she did too this time. Was it that wrong to kiss him.

Their lips were centimeters apart when they heard a weird sound coming from the entrance of the cave.

"Did you hear that?" Lyla asked as she pulled away.

"What?" Zac asked as he saw the hope in her eyes.

They heard it again.

"That. It sounds like the rocks are moving." Lyla said as she stood and ran to the entrance. Zac followed right behind her.

They both exited the cave only to see Nixie and Sirena.

Lyla noticed Sirena putting her hand down, but Zac did not. He was just satisfied that they got out of the cave.

"What are you doing here?" Zac asked Lyla's friends.

"Lyla told us she was coming here to help you and we decided to come after all." Nixie answered. She was getting good at lying to Zac's face.

"How did the cave open again?" Zac asked.

"I don't know, but let's just be happy it did and that we can get home." Lyla said a bit too dryly.

"Alright. I'll see you soon." Zac said as he ran out of the jungle to swim back to his bungalow.

Lyla looked at him go and was actually afraid to turn around and face the two girls again.

"Nice ring." Sirena said when Lyla finally turned around and looked at them. "Where did you get it?"

"Rita is furious." Nixie added.

"I didn't think that was possible." Lyla said to try and lighten up the mood.

"Lyla." Sirena said disappointed.

"We warned you against using the moon ring." Nixie added.

"That doesn't usually stop me." Lyla said.

"What if we didn't realize you were here? You could have stayed stuck in there for a couple of days." Sirena said to the fiery mermaid.

"Or died of thirst, or hunger, or dried out." Nixie added.

"Fine, it was really stupid of me, but I really wanted to help him." Lyla said sincerely.

Nixie looked at her disapprovingly.

"You're not logical anymore. You're letting your feelings speak for you." Nixie said dryly.

"I am not. I came to see if I could discover something to help us get rid of his powers. He became a merman by going through that place. The secrets probably lie there." Lyla added.

"I don't believe you. You just want to spend time with him, so he would fall for you too." Nixie said to Lyla.

"Nixie." Sirena scolded.

"Face it Sirena, she's not on our side anymore." Nixie said.

"Listen Nixie, I was trying to do something productive to reverse his transformation while you were shopping, so I am not the one to blame here." Lyla said. "I'm leaving."

Lyla said and she ran away from her two other mermaid friends. She knew she could not stay mad at them and that they are right, but this whole situation was still infuriating. She knew falling for Zac was way wrong, but she couldn't help it.

"She's going to get us in so much trouble." Nixie said as she turned to Sirena.

"I don't understand why you're so freaked out about this." Sirena said to her best friend.

"She's in love with him. I'm sure she doesn't want to get rid of his powers anymore." Nixie said to the blond mermaid.

"How can you tell?" Sirena asked.

"They both look at each other like you and David look at each other and I know you have feelings for David." Nixie said.

"So? Maybe being in love will do her good." Sirena suggested to lighten up the mood.

"I don't think so." Nixie said.

After that exchange, the two mermaids swam back to Rita's. They expected to find Lyla there, but she wasn't. Lyla was swimming on the reef to calm herself down. She was afraid of her own feelings and she did not know what to do anymore. She wants to tell Zac the truth, but she knew she'd lose Nixie and Sirena if she did.

Zac, on the other hand, decided that it was time for him to talk to Evie. He went to the café and they talked outside in private. He told her how he did not have feelings for her anymore and how he did not want to trap her in a relationship where she is not appreciated for everything she is. He told her she deserved better. She knew he had feelings for someone else- Lyla, but she took it well. She knew it was coming and it was obvious he had feelings for that girl. She was also glad that he did not cheat on her and broke up with her before actually getting involved with Lyla.

The next morning, Lyla decided that it was time she told Zac everything. Actually, she had not slept all night since she slept at Rita's instead of the moon pool. She did not want to face the girls for now and she needed to be alone, like she always has been. She knew they would hate her for it, so she prepared herself for loneliness.

She walked to Zac's small bungalow and knocked on the door.

"Hey." Zac said as his face lit up from seeing her.

"Hi." Lyla said nervously.

"Are you okay?" Zac asked concerned.

"I guess." Lyla responded.

"Okay." Zac said slowly.

"I- Ugh- Came here to tell you the truth." Lyla said to the merman.

"You have?" Zac said a bit surprised.

"Yes. I think you deserve to know why I really came to the Gold Coast." Lyla said carefully watching his expression. "Why don't we sit down?"

The two teenagers sat down on the couch and they were rather close.

Lyla took a deep breath.

"I've known you were a merman ever since you transformed for the first time at the café." She said. Zac's eyes widened.

"How?" He asked the mermaid.

Lyla held a hand in front of her and she disappeared for a couple of seconds. When she reappeared she looked at Zac of was frozen and looked stunned.

"Y-You're like me." Zac finally managed to say. "You're a mermaid."

"I am." She said a bit more confident.

"Why didn't you tell me from the start?" He asked raising his voice.

"I told you, you would be mad and hate me." Lyla said.

"I don't hate you. I'm just really surprised." Zac said to her. "Why did you keep it from me."

"We didn't want you to know." Lyla said.

"We?" He repeated. "Nixie, Sirena and you?"

"Yeah. We came on land with one goal." Lyla said.

"On land? You didn't transform like I did?" Zac asked.

"No. We were born in the sea." Lyla said.

"Wow." Zac said. "What was your goal?"

"Take your tail away." Lyla admitted sheepishly.

"Why?" He asked dryly as he looked away from her.

"Mermaids live in pods and ours felt threaten when you fell in the moon pool and got your tail. Mermen have always been mermaids' greatest enemy. Our pod was so afraid that they left Mako to live in the Pacific Ocean, but they out casted us, because we neglected our duties and let you and Cam on Mako in the first place. We were supposed to protect the island and scare you way, but we got distracted and didn't." Lyla explained carefully to the land boy turned merman.

"Wow. This is a lot to take in." Zac stated.

"Anyway, we wanted the pod to come back, so the only way was to fix you, but we have not found a way yet and I am not sure I want to do that anymore." Lyla admitted.

"Why not?" Zac asked.

"You look so happy with your tail? Why take that away from you?" Lyla asked. "I know you would never do anything to hurt us."

"Any other particular reason?" He asked teasing.

"Well, maybe I like seeing you with a tail." Lyla said with a smile. "So, you're not mad?"

At that moment, Zac cupped Lyla's face with his strong hands and connected his lips with hers. He felt so much energy run through him as they kissed. It had been a while since kissing made him feel this great. He knew he was in love with her now. Lyla couldn't even describe what she was feeling at that moment. She's never felt this happy in her entire life. Their kiss lasted about half a minute before they pulled away.

"I take it you're not mad." Lyla said as Zac rested his forehead on hers.

"No. I'm just happy there is someone that completely understands me now." He said grinning. "And I would love to swim with you."

"Race you to the jetty." She said as she ran through the door and towards the jetty. She dove in and it took a couple of seconds before he joined her.

He looked at her with a mix of love and awe. He stared at her tail and how different it was from his and he smiled.

Zac took her hand in his and they pulled her in. They shared their second kiss and it was as magical as the first one.

Maybe they could find a way to make it work after all.

* * *

 **Thank you all so much for reading this story. I had lots of fun writing it and this is my favorite Zyla one-shot that I have written so far. Your comments are always welcomed and if you have any suggestions for a story, feel free to ask. I might find time to write it. I love you all. Peace out :)**


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